North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

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North Wiltshire
County constituency

North Wiltshire shown within Wiltshire, and Wiltshire shown within England
Created: 1832, 1983
MP: James Gray
Party: Conservative
Type: House of Commons
County: Wiltshire
EP constituency: South West England

North Wiltshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until 1983, it was known as Chippenham.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

As the name suggests, the constituency covers most of north Wiltshire. However, it excludes the town of Swindon which is represented by North Swindon and South Swindon.

North Wiltshire constituency was formed for the 1983 general election, with boundaries identical to the former Chippenham constituency (1885–1983). [1]

An outline of Wiltshire shows the expected boundaries (4) for the 54th general election, 2009/2010
An outline of Wiltshire shows the expected boundaries (4) for the 54th general election, 2009/2010

For the 54th general election, the North Wiltshire constituency changes radically, as a result of boundary change recommendations. The name will be retained by the northernmost part of the current constituency, focussed on the town of Malmesbury and Cricklade, while the largest town of Chippenham will be given its own seat, along with the nearby market towns of Bradford on Avon, Calne and Melksham. North Wiltshire MP James Gray has indicated his intention to stand for the new North Wiltshire seat, while the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the Chippenham seat is Devon farmer Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones.

While North Wiltshire has a long history of returning Conservative candidates, its district council has always been a closely-fought battle between Conservative and Liberal Democrat. The new split is expected to see the more rural North Wiltshire be a slightly safer Conservative seat than the more urban Chippenham seat.

[edit] Members of Parliament

[edit] MPs 1832-1885

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1832 Paul Methuen Sir John Astley
1835 Walter Long
1837 Sir Francis Burdett
Feb 1844 Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt Conservative
Mar. 1865 Lord Charles Brudenell-Bruce
1865 Richard Penruddocke Long
1868 Sir George Jenkinson
1874 George Sotheron-Estcourt
1880 Walter Long
1885 Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished

[edit] MPs 1983-present

[edit] Election results

General Election 2005: North Wiltshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Gray 26,282 46.9 +1.4
Liberal Democrat Paul Fox 20,979 37.4 −0.8
Labour David Nash 6,794 12.1 −2.2
UK Independence Neil Dowdney 1,428 2.5 +0.4
Independent (politician) Philip Allnatt 578 1.0 N/A
Majority 5,303 9.5
Turnout 56,061 69.3 +2.0
Conservative hold Swing +1.1
General Election 2001: North Wiltshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Gray 24,090 45.5 +1.7
Liberal Democrat Hugh Pym 20,212 38.2 +0.4
Labour Jo Garton 7,556 14.3 +0.1
UK Independence Neil Dowdney 1,090 2.1 +1.4
Majority 3,878 7.3
Turnout 52,948 67.3 -7.6
Conservative hold Swing +0.7
General Election 1997: North Wiltshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Gray 25,390 43.8
Liberal Democrat S Cordon 21,915 37.8
Labour N Knowles 8,261 14.2
Referendum Party M Purves 1,774 3.1
UK Independence A Wood 410 0.7
Natural Law J Forsyth 263 0.4
Majority 3,475 6.0
Turnout 58,013 74.9
Conservative hold Swing -9.3

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "About North Wiltshire" from the website of James Gray MP. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.
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